"Michael Douglas"

SmartLess

Michael Douglas joins the hosts for an in-depth conversation about his life, career, and new memoir One Hell of a Ride. He reflects on growing up as

Key takeaways

• Douglas took a gap year after UC Santa Barbara to work at a Mobil gas station in Westport, Connecticut, where he earned Mobil Man of the Month.
• He began producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at age 23, eventually casting Jack Nicholson instead of his father Kirk Douglas, which initially caused tension but won five Academy Awards.

Main topics

• Hollywood legacy and nepotism
• Transition from television actor to film producer

Notable quotes

Kids are inherently nasty.

Conclusion

Listeners receive a grounded, unvarnished portrait of Douglas's journey from Hollywood royalty

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:05) Okay, guys, I'm just, uh, just walked through my mailbox. I'm going through my mail. Let's see what I got here. I got a jury notice. Uh, probably toss that. I have a, uh, sweepstakes. Uh, I should probably enter that. I have a utility bill that's going to be turned off. All my lights can be turned off. Okay. I should probably, I'll probably toss that. And, um, Oh, Speaker 1 (0:24) what's this? Let me open Speaker 3 (0:24) this really quick. Speaker 1 (0:29) I'm worthless right now! Speaker 3 (0:48) Guys, guess what's coming up in a couple weeks? Yeah, yeah, I know. Speaker 2 (0:50) We gotta mention... Oh, my God. Yeah, the Hollywood Bowl. Speaker 3 (0:53) Hollywood Bowl. We're gonna be at the Hollywood Bowl October 17th. Speaker 2 (0:57) And not just there, like not hanging out, actually doing a show at the Hollywood Speaker 3 (1:00) Bowl. Speaker 2 (1:00) We're gonna be on Speaker 3 (1:00) the stage. Speaker 2 (1:01) Yeah, yeah, we're not. And Speaker 3 (1:02) if you don't have tickets yet, you go to smartlist.com slash live. Is that right? Wait, what's it? What is it? Smartlist.com slash live. Oh, my gosh. Speaker 4 (1:11) That's pretty easy. And for that, they're gonna get a double guest. Is that right? Speaker 2 (1:15) Yep. Speaker 4 (1:16) Two guests. And we got some Speaker 2 (1:17) fun surprises. Really? Yeah, we got some fun surprises. Speaker 4 (1:22) All for the price of one ticket. Yeah, all for the price of one ticket. And Speaker 2 (1:25) a Speaker 4 (1:25) nice, beautiful October 17th. Correct. Right? A fall night out there under the stars. It's Speaker 2 (1:31) going Speaker 4 (1:31) to Speaker 2 (1:31) be gorgeous. And yeah, you buy a ticket, and you can't put a price tag on a smile. Oh, what a great sell. You know? Will, you're the best. Speaker 4 (1:40) Anyway, it's going to be a great night. Yes. Hopefully as great. as this next guest coming up. Guys, let's get to the episode. Speaker 4 (1:50) Guys, I was racing out of the house to come be here on time. Yeah. And, um... Out of the house? Yeah, Speaker 2 (1:57) he had Speaker 4 (1:57) to Speaker 2 (1:57) go across the compound. Oh. Into a separate structure. Sorry, yeah, yeah. Golf carts, a half-hour golf cart Speaker 4 (2:05) drive, tell the listeners. Wait, guys, everybody just... Speaker 4 (2:09) I thought, well, you can keep chewing, Will. Just everyone else just stop. Speaker 2 (2:14) God. Speaker 4 (2:16) I know. It's an audio Speaker 3 (2:19) show. Speaker 4 (2:20) Yeah. Anyway, and there in front of the window by the front door, lying on the ground is a small bird that had hit the window, I guess, earlier and was not yet dead, but deeply wounded, hurt. And I'm racing to you guys. I didn't have a chance to stop and help. I had to call back into the house. And Amanda, I think, I hope, is tending to the young bird. But, guys, I'm not good about seeing injured animals. This is the second time in Speaker 2 (2:55) five days that there's been a dead bird, a bird that was injured. Remember, on Sunday, a mate came across an injured bird. Speaker 3 (3:03) Oh, Speaker 4 (3:03) yeah. Yeah, yeah. What's going on? What Speaker 3 (3:05) if that bird tonight was sitting at the dinner table just all wrapped in bandages and is like, hey, I'm just going to be spending some time in your house from now on. Speaker 4 (3:12) And Speaker 3 (3:12) now it can speak. Yeah. Boy, that would be fantastic. Speaker 4 (3:15) I mean, I'll never forget, right? Michigan Frog? Isn't that the name of the frog? Yeah, Michigan J. Frog. Hello, my baby. Speaker 3 (3:22) Hello, my honey. What was the Speaker 4 (3:24) lesson of that particular cartoon episode? Speaker 3 (3:27) I don't know. But every time, yeah, he said it was somebody who he was like, oh, my God, you got to hear my. It's like saying I have a friend who's really funny. Watch. And then they don't say anything funny. I have a frog that can sing. Watch. And the frog doesn't sing around anybody else. And then he rents out Carnegie Hall and the frog just goes, ribbit. And everybody's like, what? Speaker 4 (3:44) Remember that? And then he got his own network, the WB. That's right. The WB, yeah. And then he got his Speaker 2 (3:49) own, and then he got the WWWB. Yeah. I remember that show. Speaker 4 (3:54) So Speaker 3 (3:55) how's Speaker 4 (3:56) everybody Speaker 3 (3:56) this Speaker 4 (3:56) morning? Speaker 3 (3:57) Good. Scotty's birthday's coming up. I'm going to take him to Lucas Museum. Boy, speaking of Scotty, Speaker 4 (4:02) that's Scotty. You played us that music that he wrote for the college there. I mean, it's just like, that was stunning. Stunning, stunning stuff. Thanks, thanks, Speaker 2 (4:12) thanks. Speaker 4 (4:12) It's like John Speaker 2 (4:13) Williams. Speaker 4 (4:13) I Speaker 2 (4:14) thought it was John. I thought it was, when I walked in, you guys were playing, and I thought it was John Williams. He recorded it with Speaker 4 (4:18) the John Williams Orchestra, basically. Yeah, Speaker 2 (4:20) like a Speaker 4 (4:20) lot of people who played on a lot of... Speaker 3 (4:22) for John Williams. Speaker 2 (4:22) It's Speaker 3 (4:23) a Speaker 2 (4:23) compliment. I mean, it's really good. Yeah, it's great. Speaker 3 (4:25) It'll come out. Thanks for saying that. It'll come out like in a month or so. Like, he'll post it and all that stuff. So Speaker 2 (4:30) you're taking him to the Lucas Museum. Lucas Museum, Speaker 3 (4:32) yeah. That thing just opened. I Speaker 2 (4:34) just read Speaker 3 (4:35) an article about that this morning. Yeah, more banana. So, yeah, you just gave me shit and Speaker 2 (4:41) then you fill your mouth and then start talking. Yeah. No, do it. Do the gross banana sound. Do it. No, I can't. Respectable guest. Speaker 4 (4:50) No, you're Speaker 2 (4:50) doing it. No, you're doing it. Speaker 4 (4:51) Don't worry. But so this episode is, we're in October. This Speaker 2 (4:57) episode is brought to you by October. Speaker 4 (4:59) And the Lucas Museum opened a couple of weeks ago. It opened on Speaker 3 (5:05) his birthday. Speaker 2 (5:05) Yeah. And I'm very excited Speaker 3 (5:07) to Speaker 4 (5:08) go see Speaker 3 (5:08) that. So Speaker 2 (5:09) you're going to the opening on his birthday? We can't. Speaker 3 (5:12) We're going to be in London, but we're going to come back after that. But what Speaker 2 (5:15) are you going to do with your pocket protector? Speaker 4 (5:19) Yeah. What kind of outfit will you guys be wearing when you go to the Lucas Museum? Oh, full, like, cape. Speaker 3 (5:25) Tatooine. Yeah. Some sort Speaker 4 (5:29) of a loose-flowing robe. Oh, he's got the Speaker 3 (5:30) Tatooine hat on. Yeah, I do. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I'm super, super excited. You know, Speaker 4 (5:38) I Speaker 3 (5:38) hear there's Speaker 4 (5:39) not a lot of Star Wars stuff in there. Speaker 3 (5:40) No, uh-uh. You'll be hard-pressed to find something in there. No, no, truly. I think Speaker 2 (5:45) JB was being serious. I'm being serious. No, I Speaker 3 (5:47) just saw a video of it. Somebody took a video that was already in it, and there's tons of Star Wars. Of course there's tons of Star Wars stuff in there. Speaker 4 (5:54) All right. Just the article I read. Jason, you just Speaker 3 (5:57) caused Speaker 4 (5:57) a Speaker 2 (5:58) panic in the nerd Speaker 3 (5:59) community. I Speaker 2 (5:59) was like, Speaker 4 (6:01) what? Or Speaker 2 (6:02) maybe what they said was... I'm calling my congressman. Speaker 4 (6:04) Not as much as you would think. It is much more about the... No, you're making all this up. I was reading in the New York Times this morning. Oh, Speaker 2 (6:12) really? Okay. Another bite for sure. Sorry, Jason, go ahead. Another bite of that. The karma is so instant, it's fucking bananas. And then I'm going to Speaker 3 (6:23) move Speaker 2 (6:23) into this, my aloha bar. Aloha bar. Those bars are great. They're just filled with stuff you don't know. Yeah. Speaker 4 (6:29) No, there's plenty. Why Speaker 2 (6:30) not Speaker 4 (6:30) just eat whole food? They describe it all in the back. These aloha bars, everybody, Speaker 2 (6:35) is the Speaker 3 (6:35) best. Those are Speaker 4 (6:36) your Speaker 3 (6:36) snacks. You know what I had for a snack before bed last night? Let me guess. Let me guess. Can Speaker 2 (6:40) we Speaker 3 (6:40) guess? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Speaker 2 (6:41) Dumplings. No. Speaker 3 (6:42) A gallon of caramel Speaker 4 (6:43) corn. Speaker 2 (6:44) Nope. Molasses. Speaker 3 (6:47) No. Hot wings. A can of sweet peas with butter. What? I'm sorry, what? Entire can of peas. Speaker 4 (6:55) Wait, wait, what are sweet peas? Sweet peas, like canned peas. That's something I call somebody. Speaker 2 (7:00) Canned peas. Are you, did you go into your doomsday bunker and just grab an extra can? What happened? Did you get some tang? Did you make a big jug of tang while you were down there? By the way, that sounds good to wash it down. Wait, Speaker 3 (7:15) I don't understand. Speaker 4 (7:15) Where did you get a can of peas from? Speaker 3 (7:17) I stock my whole pantry with peas because I like it as a snack. I just eat a whole can. Speaker 3 (7:24) Truly. 100%. Like loose peas. Yeah, Speaker 2 (7:26) loose Speaker 3 (7:26) peas. Speaker 2 (7:27) Into a pot. Now, how are we doing it? Speaker 3 (7:30) Yeah, I put it on the stove in a pot. It takes like two minutes to get warm with water. And then you strain it and you put butter on it and then you eat it. Ate the whole thing. Sure. So you just love Speaker 4 (7:39) the taste of Speaker 3 (7:40) peas. Speaker 2 (7:40) By the way, Speaker 3 (7:41) Sean, Speaker 2 (7:41) again, it's not like we don't believe that you ate the whole thing. That's not the issue. The issue is... Or the butter. Or the butter. The issue is the thing itself. Yeah. Peas Speaker 1 (7:53) is Speaker 4 (7:53) something that's just always kind of there, like parsley on a plate, and you don't pay it Speaker 2 (7:58) much. Speaker 4 (7:58) Brought to you by your Speaker 2 (7:58) friends at Del Monte. You don't really Speaker 4 (8:00) pay it much mind. I Speaker 2 (8:01) think Speaker 4 (8:01) that was them. But you made a whole meal out of it. Speaker 3 (8:03) Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. Yeah, because they're sweet. I don't know. It's like a sweet snack. Sure. Yeah. I love it. Don't you like pea soup? I do. Yeah. Speaker 4 (8:14) Yeah. This is a different. That's Speaker 3 (8:16) the Speaker 4 (8:16) soup. Speaker 3 (8:16) Yeah. Speaker 4 (8:18) These are solids. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Well, if our guest is still up. Yep. We're Speaker 2 (8:25) going Speaker 4 (8:25) to fire up Speaker 2 (8:27) a Speaker 4 (8:27) conversation with him. Speaker 2 (8:29) JB, you sure you don't want to just get rid of that aloha bar real quick? Let Speaker 4 (8:33) me just unwrap the aloha Speaker 2 (8:34) bar. Speaker 4 (8:34) No, I Speaker 2 (8:34) won't. Speaker 4 (8:34) All right, now, fellas. Yes. I'm not sure how to properly introduce this guest this morning. To go through his credits would take an hour. Speaker 2 (8:43) To mention his Speaker 4 (8:44) nominations and awards would take another. He's been a steady and consistent presence in our business that is anything but steady and consistent. For over 60 years, he has managed to act and produce some of the best, most entertaining, most respected, best remembered projects the business has turned out. Speaker 3 (9:01) But Speaker 4 (9:02) he's also worked at a gas station. where he won Mobile Man of the Year. No, of the month. Do you hear a bird? I think the bird's okay. The bird's alive. He also did a full year of college at UCSB, okay? A full single year. He was almost kidnapped at age eight, and he's beaten cancer. He's got a new book coming out, covers it all in fine detail, but he's stopping by here today to give us a few bits and pieces. It's a great honor to have him here. Please welcome the man behind... The China Syndrome, Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Romancing the Stone, Falling Down, The War of Roses. Michael Speaker 2 (9:37) Douglas. Many Speaker 4 (9:38) great films, folks. Michael Douglas. Speaker 2 (9:43) Hey, guys. Douglass. Nice to see you. Nice to see you, too. Is it Legend Day on Smartless? Speaker 4 (9:50) I know. Speaker 1 (9:51) What a troika. I mean, Speaker 4 (9:54) I want to call you sir. Can I call you Michael? Speaker 1 (9:56) Call me Mikey. You can call me... Mikey. I'll never be Mikey. Michael, anything you want to say? You know, Speaker 4 (10:03) going through your stuff, doing the modicum of research we do here, Speaker 4 (10:12) I'm just knocked out, sir. The amount of highest quality work possible that you've done with your time as well as just commercial success as well and the producing and then just the life you've lived when you're off the set. I don't Speaker 2 (10:31) know Speaker 4 (10:31) how you've packed it all in. So thank God you've written a book about it. So happy you're here to share some Speaker 3 (10:37) of it. Speaker 4 (10:37) What's Speaker 3 (10:37) the Speaker 4 (10:37) name Speaker 1 (10:37) of Speaker 4 (10:37) the book? One Hell of a Ride. Okay, perfect title. That's great. Perfect title. That's great. Well, I mean, can we start near the beginning? I mean, I just, I would love to know, you know, obviously your father had a head start with things and showing you what this business is about and what it could be. How early on did you think, that you might want to do that as well? Speaker 1 (11:10) Not too early. No. No. I think probably being the son of, my mother was an actress too. Speaker 4 (11:19) Yeah, yes. Speaker 1 (11:20) And so I was aware of the business, but I know you guys would find this hard to believe, but we are a fairly self-involved. Speaker 1 (11:30) We like us. They talk about the order of God, our country, family, and then career. But I think for us, our business career kind of comes first. So my folks got divorced at a very young age when I was like about five. They'd just gone out to California. My father just started getting a movie career. Speaker 1 (11:58) And he probably kind of acted like a guy who had never seen a girl before. So it didn't take long before my mom would say, eh, eh, I don't think this is going to Speaker 4 (12:09) work out. Speaker 1 (12:09) I'll stay in New York. Speaker 4 (12:10) So Speaker 1 (12:10) let's go back to New York kids. So I basically grew up as a New Yorker. Speaker 1 (12:18) as being part of Speaker 4 (12:20) the Speaker 1 (12:20) royal family. We had a small apartment on the west side facing the alley. It was on Central Park West, but it faced the alley. This was 1948, Speaker 4 (12:29) 49. Yeah, Central Park West facing west is not great. No, not Speaker 1 (12:35) at this beginning. That's funny. And so I knew them both as working people and as you know how anxious we all are to get a job. And they weren't ready to make those sort of, I think, choices between the family and